Rodrigo Bentancur has night to forget for Tottenham against Brentford after 0% display
Rodrigo Bentancur is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders at Tottenham, but against Brentford, he had an evening to forget.
After spending such a long period on the sidelines, Bentancur will be happy that he is fit and firing again, although in the 3-2 victory over Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday 31 January, he would have wanted to be anywhere but on a football pitch.
Since joining the club from Juventus, the Uruguay international has been a key player in North London.
Spurs supporters have been clamouring to see both him and James Maddison line up alongside each other for Tottenham, but in what was the pair’s first outing as a midfield pair this season, it certainly didn’t live up to expectations.
In fact, Ange Postecoglou was so unhappy with Bentancur’s performance that the Australian decided to replace him at half-time, something which would have caught many in the stadium by surprise.
However, it is hard to blame the 58-year-old for his decision, and it was a decision that certainly paid off in hindsight as the home side scored three goals in seven minutes after going into the break one goal down.
Bentancur just couldn’t get up to the speed of the game throughout the first half as the visitors continually rattled their hosts at every opportunity.
As per Sofascore, while the 26-year-old did manage one key pass, he only completed 84 per cent of his overall passes and failed to provide an accurate long ball forward from his one attempt.
Furthermore, his defensive work was questionable, as he won just one of his three ground duels and zero per cent of his aerial duels. He gave possession away seven times and didn’t manage a single tackle or interception during his 45 minutes on the pitch, and when the referee blew the whistle for half-time, Postecoglou decided he had seen enough.
With Yves Bissouma still away from the club on Mali duty at the African Cup of Nations, Spurs’ manager will hope to see a lot more from his midfielder going forward, starting with an improved performance at Goodison Park against Everton on Saturday 3 February.
In other Tottenham news, one Under-21 Spurs ace just can’t stop scoring.
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